Improvement in permutation-locks



"inrdV giedre aient Gemine. i

SILAS N. BROOKS,

OF- BERNARDSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ADMINISTRATOR YOF LINUS YALE,

Jn., DEonAsnD.

Letters Patent No. 98,536, lated January 4, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN PERMUTATIoN-Locxs.

The Schedule referred to :in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom'fit may concern:V

A auditsI attaching-plate, Src., which lies against the door, showing also the tumbler-case, lock, and part of the rim otthe door.` Y

Figure 2 is an elevation, from the inside, of the door of the same and other parts, lshowing also the door and door-frame or casing.`

Figure 3 is a side elevation of thc dial-knob, &c., and

Figure 3', a rear elevation of the same.

Figure 4 is an elevation ofthe conibination-iudicator, and a section through the same.

.Figure 5 is an elevation of two tumblers.

Figure G is a section through the combination-indicater, and an elevation of the tumbler-case, with the combination-indicator thereon in section.

Figure 7 is an elevation of details.

Figure 8 is a section on A B, fig. 1, and

tumbler-case,-

'Figure 9,a section on GAD, fig. 1, through all the parts of the locl All the ligures are full size except the second, which is on a smaller scale.

The same letters refer to the same parts in all the figures.

The object ofthe said invention is to provide a small, unpickable, and comparatively low-priced safe or banklock, chiefly, however, for use on doors that are filled in with plaster, alum, or other filling used by safemakers, the lock being so constructed and attached to the door, that its working-parts can berexnoved for cleaning, or for purposes of altering the combination, without disturbing the filling.

The lock is made small, in order that it may be covered (without increasing the thickness ot' the door) i with a sufficient depth of plaster to insure the door being fire-proof over its whole extent, or, it' that be impossible, then, that only a very small portion of the door shall be insufficiently protected.

In order to secure tlese objects, the lock-case is a mere socket, with a'nroper plate or ears for attaching it to the inside of the door, and its cavity coincides with a hole or opening through the door, and the tumbler-case is removable from the front or outside ofthe door, instead of from the inside, as usual.

The socket a a is, by preference, made with a cylindrical bore, and has cast or" formed in one piece with it, an attacl1iug-plate or carsb, by means ot' which it may be bolted to the door, with its cavity coinciding with an opening, s s, iig. S, formed in the iron front of the door. Y An enclosure, d, for the stump d1, and holt-stopper d2, and a bolt-case, c, for the bolt o, are also formed in one piece with or attached to the door, in proper relation to the socket. These partsv are secured to the inside of the door. So also is thje door-bolt e, which is moved by a handle or knob on lthe outside of the door, which, when turned, causes a partial revolntion of the pin el in the slot-c2, or this bolt may be actuated in any other proper 'or usual way.

The bolt c is attached to the door-bolt c, and moves ywith it, but maymerely bear against it, being pressed toward it by a spring.

The cavity ot' the socket connects with that of the enclosure l at the opening d, fig. S, and in it slide the stump l1 and bolt-stopper di. This piece is free to fall'by gravity when the notches in the tulnblers are properly located, and the cani, hereafter lo be described, is in propel' position.

It has pivoted upon it An; small, slightly-eccentric roller, d4, which is the disconcerter. Viren this piece is down, the bolts can be moved by the handle to lock and unlock thc door. Then the door is locked, it is thrown up behind the bolt cl, so as to prevent the retraction oi' both bolts. Then the door is unlocked, it may be. thrown up into a notch, c?, in the bolt 0,1, and

4then neither bolt can be moved either backward or forward.

The tumbler-case ffl is, by preference, made cylindrical, and in two pieces. It is attached tothe fillingplate g gg, which I prefer to make ot' one piece of hardened steel, although it may be made ot' several thicknesses, properlyattached to each other.

In this tillingplate, or these plates,'is supported the spindle h, carrying the knob h1, theindex-plate h2, and the cam h?. All these parts are free both to revolve and slide in the filling-plate, and the cam, securely fastened upon the.spindle, prevents its withdrawal from the plate. This cam has projecting from it, on the side nearest the tumblers, a pin or pins, by means of which the tumblers It k can be revolved. v

These tumblers may, as usual, be supported' upon. a pin or spindle projecting from the bottom of the socket, or from the knob-spindle h., and when this pin is enmloyed, I prefer so to tit it that it is free to revolve. l

The bestv plan, however, is to employ a tumbler-case proviled with grooves, (see specially figs. 9 and 3,) the tumblers being located in the grooves, which both support and space the tumblers.- I prefer to attach this case, or part of it-,to the filling-plate.

Under the construction shown and described, the knob, dial, or index-plate, spindle, cam, tumbler-case, and tumblers, can all be drawn out from or shoved into the socket from the front of the door, and when they are drawn out, the piece dl cl2 will drop down into the socket, and can also be removed, so that all workingparts ofthe lock proper can be withdrawn, for cleaning or change' of combination, without disturbing the tilling, and while the socket is still completely covered by the filling.

In order to prevent. the dropping down of the piece l1 d2, when the tumbler-case is removed merely for the purpose of examination or for changing the con'ibination. I locate in the bottom of the socket a springfdl, which, when the tumbler-case is pulled out., files under the stump and holds it up. lhe spring is thrown back by the tinnbler-case, when the latter is pushed home, so that the spring then cannot reach under the stump, and may be' pushed back by the finger when lit is desired to let the stump drop intothesocket.

The tumbler-case is open at top, as at f2, fig. 3, so that the stump can drop into the notches k2 l# of the tumblers, and also so that the disconcerter d* may fall when the cam 7i?i is properly located.

The cam-or spindle has upon it, as before stated, one or more pins h h5, and each tumbler has one 0r more-pins k k* projecting from each side of it. Tile distances between the tum'bl'ers and the length of' the pins are so proportioned that one tumbler may be rotated by another, in the usual way, and the spindle, cam, and pins, which revolve with the spindle, have end-play, as usual in some revolving tumbler1ocks,.so that these pins may or may not engage with the pins upouthe first tumbler.

'lhat- 'part ofthe cam upon which the roller dridcs, when the spindle is shoved in, is circular, and that part of it upon which the same roller rests when the spindle is pulled out, is cnt away, as at d2 v When the piece cl2 is up, preventing the motion of -the bolts, and it is desired to move them, the knob is first shoved in, then the tumblers ,are set in succession, in the usual way, with their notches or gates allv in line, and all under the stump. ,'lhen the knob is pulled ont, carrying-with it thc cam h, and, as the pins moving with the spindle no longer act upon the tumblers', they stand at rest while the cavity or recess da is moved under the roller tl. As this recess comes under the roller-,both roller and stump drop through the opening in the top of the tumbler-case, the roller into the recess, andthe stump into the gates of the 4 turnblers. The piece d2 is then so .far down that -it no. longerlocksthe bolts, and they can be moved by-the handle. A further revolution of the spindle lifts the roller and stump, and the spindle may then be 4pushed in, and the tumhlers maybe set at random, in the usual way.

I have thus far described the tumbler-case and spindie, and its accessories, as being secured together, but it is evident that they might be separate, and that when pushed into the socket, the case might he put in first, and the spindle, filling-plates, &c., afterward, and the same result, in the removal of the workingparts of the lock, be attained, in substantially the same way.

I have hitherto described'the tumbler-caseas free to be removed at all times, although it is clear that such a construction would permit of all the workingparts of the lock being removed when the door was lo'cked,'and that when so removed the door-bolt could be 4retracti'ed and the door opened. In order to pre` vent this, I apply to the tumbler-case, or-some piece connected with it, or to the filling-piece or plates, when they are separate from the case, a bolt or cat-ch, by which the tumbler-case and spindle, and accessories,

l are firmly connected to the socketfand I so locate this catch that it is accessible only when the safe-door is open. I have devised various foxgms a-nd arrangements of this catch or bolt, Aand lavc shown in the drawings the one that I prefer.

The catch-'m slides on the back of the door, and lies between the filling and the iron'door; one end, m1 m1, and these forks enter a slot in the socket, and may be caused to entera groove, m2, formed invthe filling-piece, by pushing the catch in the direction of the arrow. When the-catch is in the groove, the filling-plate, and consequently, the spindle, 85e.,

and the tun'lbler-case, cannot be removed from the l socket without destroying the catch, and as this catch is inaccessible when the door is shut, the lock is secure. A burglar might bore the door, and, by int-rodncing some instrument, withdraw the catch. In order to prevent this, I prolong the catch so that it passes through the rim or edge-plate o ofthe door, and when the door is closed, this end of the catch abuts against the door-casing p. It is, therefore, impossible to move the catch except when the door is open.

In order to move the catch, a small recess is formed in the' rim of the door, and another in the end of the catch. (See fig. 8.) A hook may thus be applied to withdraw the catch, so as to remove the tumbler-case when the door is'open.

The usual indices for setting the tumblers, so that the stump may drop, are, of course, to be applied;

and as I desire to make the lock both small and cheap, I do not make the pin .upon eaclrtumbler adjustable.

with reference to the gates, so as to change the combination, although such tumblers may be used, but, in place thereof', intend to supply with each lock a number of tum'blers, each having the pins in different radial positions with respect to thc gate. Each tum bler,moreover, has upon it four pins, two on each side, and at different distances from the centre.

In consequence of this, the combination can be varied, not only by changing the tumblers, but also, as usual, by varying the order of a given set of tumblers, and, further still, byinversion of one or more tumblers, in such manner that a different side ofthe tumbler is toward the dial'or knob. g f

I further enable the user to choose his own combination by means of numbers engraved upon the tum blers in certain orders and relations to the gates; but as neither the changes of combination nor the means by which a special combination may be effected are claimed herein, or affect the working of the lock, further and detailed description on this head is unnecessary.'

vThe tumbler-s thus described, might have one pin only on each side thereof', but I have found by trial that when two pins on cach side are employed, both.

of which are driving-pins, and located in the same diameter, or nearly so, then the friction of the tumblers vupon the tumbleucase is much lessened, and the same result, as to lesseningof friction, is observed when the tumbler-s are supported upon a spindle.

This combination of two pins, both on the same side of a tumbler, with the tumbler, is, I believe, new with me.

As the socket is usually to be closed at the rear, as shown, it is con venieut to know, with perfect certainty, the set ofthe combination before the tumbler-case .is introduced into the socket, and this must be done by eye, by setting the tumblers in succession under the `slit in the top of the tumbler-case, and noting, as

each one is set, the relative position of the pointer or index-notch and dial, and the directions in which the knob is turned. l

It is difficult to judge by eye when the notches are exactly set, and to hold them by the finger in that polsition While noting the dial-indications. I have, there- It is forked-at fore, invented an instrument which I call a ,combination indicator. Y

This instrumentconsists of a ring, n., which fits the outside of the tumbler-case, and a feather, a', attached to and project-ing inward from it, the feather fitting closely the opening in the top of the tumbler-case and the gates in the tumblers. The ringis to be applied on the end of the case, (seefig.6,) and pressed upon by the finger toward the knob while it is turned.

When the last tumbler is revolved, so that its notch is opposite the feather, the finger-pressure will force the feather into the notch; the dial-indication is then to b'e noted; then the knob is to be revolved again in the opposite direction, rotating the tumbler next to.

the last. When .its notch comes opposite the feather, the indicator will be pressed into it, and a note of the dial-indication is again to be made, andso on, in succession, until the whole combination is noted. I intend 'usually to provide the ring with a bottom, n2,

and a cover to screw upon it,` and it then forms a box for containing the spare tumblers I have said that I prefer to make the inside of the` socket and the exterior of the tumbler-case cylindrical, although they may be square, hexagonal, octagonal, or of other figure. And I also prefer tomake the case cylindrical in its interior, or of such shape that the tulnblers may be held in place without the use of a spindle, and in grooves, so as to dispense with washers.

. In the latter construction, the tumbler-case must be made in two parts (see figs. Sand 31) in order to inlsert the tuinblers, and I have discovered that the best plan is to make one part of the case a little more than semi-cylindrical; the tnmblers can then be slippedinto the grooves only when their notches are opposite the dividing edge of the case, (see la?, fig. 3,) and afterbeing thus inserted and turned, they cannot be removed or fall out, until they are turned back to the same position. l

When the outside of the tumbler-case is cylindrical, I prefer to malte a slot in it,`parallel to its axis, as at p1, fig. 3, and to form a corresponding feather in the socket. These two, together, serve as a guide for the insertion of "the tumbler-case in proper angular relation to the stump, and facilitate its introduction into the socket. l Y

It is hardly necessary' to state, to those skilled in making bank-locks, that the roller dil prevents thestumpfrom riding on the tumblers, when the spindle -is shoved in so as to act upon the tumblers, and that this arrangement, in connection with the eccentricity.

of the roller, makes the lock unpickalole.v I do not claim a removable tumbler-case, or tumblers in grooves, nor a socket for a tumbler-case, nor a bolt to hohl atumbler-case in place generally; neither do I claim` a disconcerter, ora spindle having end-play, and provided with a cam and pins; Vbut I believe Inyself to be ,the irst inventor of a spindle provided either with pins and a-cain, or with a cam only, which is secured in place by a catch or bolt, and used in combination with tumblers, and also to be the first to make a spindle or a rotary tumbler-ease removable from the front ofthe door; and e `I therefore claim as `of my own invention- 1. The combination of the following parts, viz: first, a socket; second, a door with an opening in it corresponding with the tumbler-cavity of the socket; third, a filling-plate and spindle; and fourth, rotating tum- 'blers contained within the socket, the whole being constructed so that the spindle, filling-plate, and rotating tumblers can allbe withdrawn from the outer -side of the door, substantially as before described.

2. Also, the combination ofthe following parts, viz: first, a socket or lock-case; second, a door, with an opening in it corresponding with the cavity of the socket; third, a filling-plate and spindle; fourth, ro-

constructed in such manner that the rotating .tumblers and the tumbler-case may be withdrawn from the outer side of the door,lsubstantially asl before set forth.

3. Also, thecombination ofthe socket, thedoor hav- .the socket, the filling-plate, and spindle, the rotating tumblers, and the bolt or catch to prevent the withdrawal ofthe filling-plate, the whole constructed in such manner that the filling-plate and rotating tmnblers can be withdrawn from the outer side of the door after the bolt orcatch isacted upon from the inner side of the door, substantially as before set forth. l l

4. Also, the combinationA of the socket, tli'e door having an opening corresponding with` the tumblercavity of the socket, the filling-plate, and spindle,`the Vrotating tumblers, the tumbler-case, and the catch or bolt for preventing the withdrawal of the filling-plate, lthe whole constructed in such manner that the fillingplate, rotating tumblers, and tumbler-case can be withdrawn from the outer side of the -door after the bolt or catch is acted upon from the inner side of the door, substantially as before set forth.

5. Also, the combination of the following elements or parts of-a lock, viz: first, the socket or lock-case; second, the tumbler-case; and third,the spindle, when the construction is such that both the tumbler-oase andthe spindle may be withdrawn from the outer side of the socket, substantially as described, withoutremoving the socket from the inside of the door.

6. Also, the eombinationof the following elements or parts of a lock, viz,t`hesocket, tumbler-case, spindle, and 'bolt or catch passing through the socket, the construction being such that the tumbler-case and spindle can be withdrawn from the outer side of the ,socket when thebolt or catch is moved for that purpose, substantially as before set forth.

7. VAlso, the combination of the following elements or parts of a lock, viz, first, the socket or lock-case; second,` the tumbler-case; third, the spindle; and fourth, the filling-plate, the construction being such that the tumbler-ca-se, the spindle, and the filling-plate can bewithdrawn from the outer side of the socket, substantially as before set forth, without removing the socket from the inside of the door.

S. Also, the combination of the following elements dle, filling-plate, and bolt or catch; the construction being such that the tumbler-case, spindle, and` fillingsocket when the holt or catch is moved for that purpose, substantially as before set forth.

9. Also, the combination of rotating tuinblersnvith a grooved .tumbler-case constructed in parts, one of which is a little more than semi-cylindrical, so that the tumblers can be inserted only when their notches are opposite the dividing edge of the case, substantially as 'before set forth.

y 10. Also, the combination of the door, the remov- 1 able spindle of the lock, and the catch or bolt passing be moved when the' door is shut, substantially as before set forth.

11. Also, the combination ofthe socket or lock-case, the stump of thelock, and the spring for holding the `stump out of the cavity of the socket, substantially as before set forth.

12. Also, the combination of the socket, the stump of the lock, the spring for holding the stump out of the cavity of the socket, and the tumbler-case so arranged that when in position in the socket, it prevents the spring from acting upon the stump, substantially as before set forth.

viz, the stump, socket, rotating tumblers, and the spindle, the construction of the whole being such that tating tumblers; and fifth, a tumbler-case, the whole V ingan openingcorresponding with the tumbler-cavity of or parts of a lock, viz, t-he socket, tun1b1er-case,spinplate can be withdrawn from the ant-er side of the through the rim of the door, so that the catch cannot 13. Also, the combination of the following elements,

:both t-nmblcrs and spindle may be removed from the frontl side ot' the socket without the stump, substantally :is before set forth, without removing the socket from the inside ot the door.-

14. Also,the combination of thethllowing elements, viz, the stump-socket, rotating tnmblers. spindle, and lling-plate, theconstruction of the whole' being such that the 'tumbler-s, spindle, and filling-plate may all be removed from the front side of the socket'without the stump, substnntallyns before set forth.

15. Also, the'combinnton of the following elements, viz, the stump, socket, rotating tnxnblers,nnd tnmbler-ca-se, the construction of the whole being such that the rotating tumblers :md tumbler-case can be removed from the front side of the socket without-the stnrnp, substantially as before set forth, without removing the socket from the inside ot" the door.

l. Also,'th'e combination of the followingr elements, viz, the tumbler-ease, tnmblers, filling-plate, spindle,

stump, socket, and door constructed with au opening coinciding with the tumbler-cavity of the socket, 'chel whole constructed in such manner thatwhen the tillside of the door, substantiallyns beiorenset forth.

17. Also, the combination of the elements recited in the last preceding claim, with n bolt or catch for .preventing the withdrawal of the spindle, filling-platte, and tnmblers, substantially as'before set forth.

`18. Also, the combination ot' :t revolving tumbler with two pins projecting from the `same side thereof, and located inthe same diametrical line or therenbont, :md at diierent radialdistancesA from the `axis of rotation of the tumbler-,the construction being substantially as described.

' LINUS YALE, JR... Vi'itnesses z,I

EDMD. ELMENDORF, Jr., G. A. VAN SICKLE. 

